Look who got the last laugh... WDE

You know what they say: Behind every good man, there's a great woman. She is definitely behind him down to the littlest detail...
Apparently, the bride paid for the groom's cake, but you know her family got the last laugh.

WDE

Best friends near or far

Two of my best friend's WEB LOG.
If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (jk. I think I'm better than most people with MySpace. Besides, I think it's for the music crowd), you know I am obsessed with my two friends, Jordan and K8ie gurl Anderson.
He's a chaco-flannel-Levi-wearing Tiger Head (AU alum), wet cat (AU swimmer), Banjo picking and skit performing enthusiast (YL leader).
She has a Moe's-pizza-and-Birthday-Cake-ice-cream palette with a rockin body. She loves nicknames, lilies, notes and early bedtimes. But I love her most for her unmatched ability to deeply love a wretch like me despite my mood swings and all-too-often tendency to pull away from the ones I need the most.
Freshman year in ADPi, I was blessed to meet Katie . Then I got to live with her on the ADPi hall and in 36 Mafia with 4 other best sista friends. I met Jordan through my "magnet" friend whom was also influential in kindling the K8ie+Jordo=4eva fire.
I liked Jordan because he entertained me in between classes in the Haley Center. He was (who am I kidding-IS) way cooler than I, so I appreciated his companionship.
Now, when I say I liked him-I did. But that didn't mean I liked him coming in and dating my bff.
I need to confess this because for all who knew me at the time Jordan was pursuing Katie so patiently and confidently, I was not-so subtly protective.
I was protective because she had been hurt indifferent to what Jordan was or was not doing. I was also protective because of the caliber of man I knew him to be in the short time I had known him. That sounds backwards, but isn't that the mind of a girl for you?
I have been affirmed EVERY time since the first few days of our friendship he was as genuine and intentional as they come. I knew he was the real deal.
THAT terrified me because those are the kinds of guys who ride off into painted sunsets and steal your best friends.
It didn't take long (well, I was the last bff to accept them, but give me a break) for me to concede my reservations and happily support this couple. The rest is history documented thanks to various Facebook albums, visions of swim meets dancing in our heads and countless stories that will be re-told to their all-star kids and my red-headed heathens of unforgettable porch nights and lake trips.
Now, I have a brother AND my sista friend.
Here's the kicker: He is actually stealing her away-not to never never land via side saddle on some tantalizing stallion, but to England via Delta (maybe even United).
AND I'm not even upset about this fairytale. I'm pumped.
Because it's not a cursive "The End" after a Disney movie or "happily ever after" just yet...
It's the beginning.
I joined my best friends in marriage, and you better believe I'm using my dad's Sky Miles and sick days to go visit.
Now that K8ie gurl blogs, I can shout out to her with hope she'll see it:

Here's a toast to... you know the rest, but most of all here's a toast to my best friends!

Like mother like daughter. Or not?

My mother is my mother.
She's not my best friend.
She doesn't want to be my bff, and to be fair, I don't want her to be my bff.
My mother raised me with morals, integrity, curiosity and a strong will. She raised me the best she could, so that I could find friends with similar values and create friendships that would enhance my life.
On the Today show, there was a debate on whether moms and daughters could be bffs.

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I too envied friends that talked to their mothers about boys, clothes, school and even their walk and struggles with faith, but as I've grown up, my appreciation for our distance has made us closer. But how does a mother discipline her daughter if the daughter doesn't respect her? There must be a line...

I got so mad because she never let me put Kelly-Clarkson-blonde chunky highlights in my hair or wear makeup until the eighth grade. I hated when she told me my blue lip gloss, Sketchers and glitter eye shadow wasn't my best look. She really urked me when she wouldn't let me visit my high school sweet heart who went to college a few states away when I was still in high school. She wouldn't let me go to some of the cool parties where people were drinking and needed me to clean their houses and drive people home, but when she conceded, let me go, and we inevitably got in trouble, she grounded me... Like who did she think she was? My mother or something?

To say we had a strained relationship is a flattering understatment, and only a very few people knew just how strained it was from middle school until my fateful freshman year in college. I could never understand why she didn't want to be my friend until now. I am starting a new phase and need her more than ever. Boundaries don't keep us out. They keep us close. They give structure to a relationship that needs the most delicate structure . I need a mother like I need my best friends. Need mom to explain why things happen in life and need friends to help me through it. Need mom to force me to pay bills and need friends to overdraft at Moe's with.

If you know me, you know my fear is having a girl of my own... not that I don't love baby Auburn cheerleader outfits and frenchbraiding, but can you imagine what another Grace would do to this world? I don't wish that upon anyone... but if I do, you better believe I'll surround her with love and attention, so she can confidently grow into a woman seeking after the Lord in relationships around her. And I'll prolly let her wear Steve Madden, black, clunky shoes with Limited Too jorts because she has to learn some things the hard way.